CHAPTER 3

"Mon chérie, come on! Isn't it beautiful?"

Venice was beautiful, Alice agreed. But she also agreed that the amount of tourist there was too damn high! "Yes, yes, Frog." Alice rolled her eyes, "You can explore later after we check in to the hotel."

"But-"

"Shut up, Bonnefoy."

"Oui, votre Majesté."

"Stop calling me that." Alice snapped, storming off to the hotel. Her face was flushed cherry-red.

Francis smiled, "Oui, votre Majesté!"

XXX

"Cosa vuol dire c'è una sola?" Alice hissed at the desk-lady.

"Alice?" Francis frowned, "Alice what's going on?" He couldn't speak Italian, but he had a good guess that whatever was going on between the two, wasn't good for Alice and him.

Alice ignored him, "Ho pagato per due camere!"

The desk-lady shrugged, "Noi non abbiamo più camere, signora. Dovete condividere l' uno con il vostro marito." Alice's face burned scarlet. "Capisco. Questi sono tempi duri per voi due, e non si vuole essere ovunque vicino lui-"

" Non è mio marito. E 'il mio collega." Alice cut her off, face still red.

"Alice, what is she saying?"

Francis was ignored again. Alice sighed. "Bene, bene."

"Meraviglioso!" The woman smiled, "Avrai un assegno di rimborso inviata a casa tua in una settimana, signora. Ecco la chiave della camera."

Alice huffed and took the key from the woman. "Come on, Frog."

Their hotel room was beautiful, Francis thought. Or maybe he had spent too much time around the middle-to-lower class to tell whether it was good quality or not. The room had one bed, full-size if he had to guess, a loveseat, a partial kitchen, a coffee table, radio, two lamps and lean carpet and a nice bathroom. The whole thing was a splash of coral, gold and tan.

"Dieu merci," Francis sighed happily, collapsing onto the bed. Alice rolled her eyes. She plunked her suitcase in the corner. "So, where is my room, mon chérie?"

Alice froze, and then her face flushed. She didn't meet his indigo eyes. "Here."

"Oh, zen where will you sleep?" Francis asked. Alice couldn't help but find that confused face adora-no, no, no! Alice shook her head slightly. Annoying. She meant annoying.

"...Here..." Alice winced at how meek her voice sounded. "The hotel made a mistake, so we have to share the room."

There was silence...And then, "Ohonhonhonhonhon~!"

"Shut up!" Alice gave him a swift kick in his shin, but the atmosphere had lightened. "It's just for a few nights, anyways."

"Oui, oui." Francis smiled at her. "Lunch, zen?" He grabbed her wrist and took off before she could even protest.

XXX

"It's beautiful, non?" Francis asked Alice, watching her face.

Her gleaming green eyes peered behind thick blonde eyelashes and into the river outside. Her pale ash blonde hair was pulled into a low ponytail that draped over her shoulder. He couldn't stop staring at her plump, pouty lips.

Alice didn't look at him. "It is. It still looks like it did seven years ago, just busier."

"You've been here before?" Francis asked, surprised. She hummed. A yes. "What for?" Francis leaned in.

Her eye's glazed over and darkened a bit. "I... I was just visiting with some friends." Francis hid a wince. A bad memory, he guessed.

"What about you?" She tore her gaze from the outside. "You never told me why you came to London." She already knew, though, really.

Francis grimaced slightly. "...I was banished from Paris by the head of ze Bonnefoy family, my great aunt." He caught Alice's look and sighed. "Oui, oui. I was an imbecile. I partied, drank, wooed several women and men-"

"Okay, I get the point." Alice stopped him. "I get it. You were a party animal."

Francis snorted at her choice of words. "But a handsome party animal." he grinned at her before continuing. "And zen...And zen I met a woman zat changed my life."

"Mathew's mother?" Alice guessed.

"Oui," Francis' smile never left his face. "Her name was Jeanne. She was beautiful. Ze most beautiful woman in all of France...But she wasn't rich, non, she was born to a poor family zat owned a bakery a little way from my Fazer's estate."

He paused for a minute. "After Matthew was born, we had to stop seeing each ozer so openly. I had sneak over to ze bakery when it was dark to see zem."

Alice frowned. "Because she wasn't rich?"

Francis nodded. "My great aunt would 'ave never allowed it. And besides, Mathew was born out of wedlock, so zat itself was a disgrace to my family." He took a deep breath. "But eventually she found out. I came home one day and ze bakery was in flames. I managed to rescue Matthew, but...Jeanne and her parents didn't make it. Zey ruled it out as an accident, but I know zat my great aunt did it. She stripped me of my title and disowned me 'until I do something worthy with myself'."

Alice looked at his tear glossed, indigo blue eyes. "...Je suis tellement désolé pour votre perte,"

Francis blinked. Did she just? "Q-Quoi?" The Englishwoman huffed at him and avoided his eyes. "Vous pouvez parler français?"

"Don't get used to it, Frog." She glared at him, but out of embarrassment. "And I only know a little from the time I lived in France."

"You lived in France?" Francis' eyebrow raised. "You never told me zat."

Alice blushed. "I played there for a year and a half. Mainly in Paris and Bordeaux. And once or twice in Calais." She caught Francis' look. "I was the concertmaster in an orchestra that played at a bunch of aristocrat parties. One time we played for the Russian emperor, actually."

"Zat's amazing!" Francis gaped at her. "How come you never told me about zat?"

Alice shrugged, glancing back outside. "I just never thought about it."

Translations:

Mon chérie = My dear

Oui, votre Majesté = Yes, Your Majesty

Cosa vuol dire c'è una sola? = What does it mean there is only one?

Ho pagato per due camere! = I paid for two rooms!

Noi non abbiamo più camere, signora. Dovrete condividere l' uno con il vostro marito. = We have no more rooms, ma'am. You have to share one with your husband.

Capisco. Questi sono tempi duri per voi due, e non si vuole essere ovunque vicino lui – = I see. These are hard times for the two of you, and you do not want to be anywhere near him –

Non è mio marito. E 'il mio collega. = He's not my husband. He's my coworker.

Bene, bene. = Fine, fine.

Meraviglioso! = Marvelous!

Avrai un assegno di rimborso inviata a casa tua in una settimana, signora. Ecco la chiave della camera. = You'll get a refund check sent to your home in a week, ma'am. Here's your room key.

Dieu merci. = Thank God.

Oui, Oui. = Yes, yes.

Non? = No?

...Je suis tellement désolé pour votre perte. = ... I'm so sorry for your loss.

Vous pouvez parler français? = You can speak French?